A faulty or broken thermostat can be one of the most annoying things to ever happen to your house. It's always too hot or too cold, and you can end up wasting money on your electricity bill.
While the PlayStation and Xbox models may rule the current world of gaming, there are still those who love to keep it old school. The grittiness, toughness and nostalgia that is laced throughout old gaming consoles appeals to many people. Every time I play Donkey Kong 64 (with the expansion pack of course!), I revert back to the days of Sunday morning cartoons and only worrying about homework.
Halloween is less than a couple weeks away, so it's about that time you start thinking of cool ways to decorate your house (if you haven't already), and pumpkins are an obvious choice. Pumpkins are one of the cornerstones of Halloween celebrations, dating all the way back to the early 19th century. Carved jack-o'-lanterns are a great way to add some spookiness around the house, but that takes time, skill, and effort. Creating cool glow-in-the-dark pumpkins requires no carving at all—and looks...
In a previous project, I showed how to build an electrical Jacob's ladder using an old microwave oven transformer (MOT). In this project, I modified the secondary coil on the MOT, which converts it from a high voltage/low current device into a low voltage/high current metal melter!
Believe it or not, it's possible to make your very own lava—if you have a furnace capable of heating up to 1,200 degrees Celsius, that is. Bob Wysocki and Jeff Karson started the Syracuse University Lava Project to study basaltic lava and give students a hands-on way (hypothetically, of course) to learn about it. Oh, and they also want to use it for art projects. Sign me up for that class! It all starts with 1.1 billion-year-old basalt gravel, which apparently anyone can buy. They put the gra...
You can do a lot more with playing cards than you'd think, like turn them into gift boxes, fling them like throwing stars, and make them levitate or disappear. You can even make them recharge your batteries. Instructables user Shawn Frayne was sick of having a bunch of dead batteries lying around, so he developed a cheap and easy way to always have a charged one within arm's reach by turning a normal playing card into a super simple solar-powered battery charger for rechargeable AA and AAA ba...
We've all played with bubbles as kids, but I think most would agree that they're not exactly the most functional of objects. An international team of researchers made up of Yoichi Ochiai, Alexis Oyama and Keisuke Toyoshima wants to change that. They've figured out how to project both 2D and 3D images onto a micro membrane (soap bubble) using ultrasonic sound waves and a standard projector. The bubble is made of a solution of sugar, glycerin, soap, surfactant, water and milk. The glycerin and ...
There's no charge for this electricity! All you'll need for this project is... Now, watch and learn how to make your own emergency power if you find yourself in a bind.
Making little robots with a LEGO Mindstorms NXT set is already cool, but putting one underwater? Now that's just crazy. That didn't stop this engineer, who built a LEGO submarine that can not only maneuver around his fish tank, but can also be remotely controlled with his Xbox controller. The craft has a sealed battery compartment, exposed Power Functions motors, and features real-time communication between it and a laptop using a NXTbee wireless module.
Want an electric car without the price tag? You could always build your own, or maybe just hack your old gas guzzler into an eco-friendly electric machine... This weekend at Defcon, security consultant David Brown showed off his "Voltswagon" project, a 1974 Beetle named Shocky that he converted to electric for only $6,000. He removed the old combustion engine, radiator, and a few other unneeded parts to make it lighter. Then he loaded it with batteries front and back, ten Interstate DC-29, 12...
Helping to prove that science is way awesome, an 18-year old electrical engineering student has successfully made a light bulb float. His name is Chris Rieger, and he's been working on his "LevLight" project for about six months now, with pretty amazing results. This feat of ingenuity was accomplished by using magnetic levitation, although that over-simplification masks how considerably difficult this undertaking was.
If you're ever lost in a survival situation, here's a little trick you're going to be so glad to know. Normally, we'd think of using water to put OUT a fire, but in this video I show you how I use water to START THEM.
Watch this video to learn how to use Terrafirma to make a map of your Terraria world. If you've got designs for a constructions project but not a location, or you really need a certain resource, having a map will really come in handy.
Just because you don't have money to blow doesn't mean you can't blow things up. If you're looking to add a Michael Bay quality explosion to your backyard film project, check out this Indy Mogul Backyard FX video. The total cost of everything you need to make this special effect is less than one hundred dollars.
Need some stripes in your knit-work? Judy's going to lend you her expertise and show you how to make stripes of two rows. She starts out adding a row of red yarn above previously knitted gray row, to make her stripes. Just follow her guidelines for stitching and you should have no problems knitting stripes in your future projects.
Bias tape can add a professional, classy edge or finish to any project. Working with bias tape on a straight edge certainly isn't hard, but the curves can sometimes be a bit tricky. However, they're not impossible, and you can pick up the technique in just a few minutes! This video shows you how to work with single fold bias tape and sew it evenly and professionally around curved edges.
Want to learn how to make huge granny squares? The answer lies in extreme crochet - using multiple strands of yarn together. You will need your yarn and a size P hook. Then follow along, and learn how to make your own extreme crochet projects!
Even origami veterans who can pull off 18-sided modular origami balls had to start somewhere. If you're interested in becoming a legendary origami master, begin with this simple project.
Start with the basic base you'd use to make an origami bird, and then use this variation so you can end up with a giraffe! This project is about low-intermediate in complexity, so make sure you know the origami basics first.
We've noticed that the more realistic an origami project looks, the harder it is to fold. But that's not true with these origami French fries. Whether you're looking at them from afar or up close, they look almost good enough to chow down on.
Before you embark on folding this cool empty-centered origami modular ball, be warned: This is not for the butterfingers or beginner origami students among us. With a multitude of sides and a delicate balance of paper that keeps the ball from collapsing in on itself, this is one origami project that should be attempted carefully.
Cake pops, popularized by bite sized goddess Bakerella, are a food fad that you should definitely sink your teeth into (literally), but to make sure your cake pops appear professional and uniform you have to consider your sizing.
This is very easy to follow project you can use to sew a cute, stylish pillbox style hat. All you need is some stiff fabric, a few sewing notions and then whatever embellishments (like ribbons, flowers or applique) you want to attach to the sides.
Produce and mix drums using Pro Tools in this video tutorial. Pro Tools is used in this project to begin with several drum tracks, add effects, add compression and mix down to a final stereo drum track all within the Pro Tools software environment.
This tutorial has been inspired by the character Piglet, from the Winnie the Pooh books. You'll need to have mastered the basic triangle folding techniques for 3-D origami, and, of course, have lots of pink paper to make this project!
An accent table is a great addition to any room, especially if storage is at a premium in your living space. This project won't take longer than a weekend to complete, and you can finish it in any color to match your decor.
Tired of losing track of all your favorite headbands? This tutorial shows you how to make a headband holder! This project could also be used to organize your necklaces, or make a smaller version to use as a bracelet holder.
Make your clothing really light up! This tutorial shows you how to properly and carefully sew a connection to an arduino to some fabric, so you can incorporate some lightweight electronics into your next fashion project or battery operated costume piece.
This tutorial shows you how to do two basic macrame ties, which you can use to make keychains, bracelets, chokers and other types of jewelry. Add beads, charms and other decorations to your projects - macrame is cheap, easy and fun!
This is a fun and funky project you can use to recover a boring pillow. All you need is a wool sweater (which you can find easily at a thrift store) and the pillow you want to cover. You'll also need to be able to felt the wool.
You can make a classy, desginer style rug out of some scrap pieces of carpet. If you plan to create a dyed rug, make sure the carpet will take the dye before you start this project. Use any design you want!
This is a great project to make a fun and feminine shirt. All you need is one piece of fabric cut in a circle, a few basic notions and a sewing machine. No pattern required, just make sure you have your measurements at hand!
What exactly is a snake dragon? Well, as you can see by this origami project, it's a hybrid dragon snake with a slithering, long tail and the head and wings of a dragon.
The running stitch is one of the most basic stitches, used in both embroidery and sewing. This tutorial shows you how to use it for your embroidery projects. A running stitch is best used for outlining the rest of your threadwork.
The problem with stretchy fabrics is that stretching it out in am embroidery hoop will distort the look of the finished project. This tip shows you how to prepare your fabric by using a non stretchy stabilizer, which you can buy at any fabric store.
This tutorial shows you how to set up a very stylized shot that's ideal for shooting music videos. Choose and set up the right kinds of lighting setups, and then make sure you get just the right camera angle for your project.
This is a good tutorial for someone who has just started crochet and is looking for a challenging but still doable project. Crochet a fun and beautiful snowflake - use as a doily, give as a gift or turn into a decoration!
This tutorial shows you one important lighting fixture for filming music videos - the ring light. Make your own ring light, and then learn how you can use it to greatest effect when you're filming your next music vidoe or indie project.
The Bolex is an amazing professional quality camera. This is quick tutorial that shows you how you can load film into one, and a few more basic features that you can take advantage of to get the best film quality possible for your projects.
This tutorial shows you a quick rundown of ten different lighting setups for films. Whether you're looking for a silhouette, a documentary or confessional style look or something else entirely, you'll be able to find something useful in this tutorial.
